Brothers
by hsm753
Summary: After Vince's birthday on Raw, both Shawn and Triple H are caught in the middle of an event that, for any reason, would cause them to choose between themselves or each other. Friendship.


**No Copyright Intended. I do not own Wrestling or its characters.**

_How did we even get in this situation?_

Hunter kept thinking the same question over and over in his head as he attempted to grab onto the steering wheel that he had just touched a few seconds earlier. He had hoped the car was still able to move, but it didn't seem willing to do so. Hunter sighed and let his arms rest on his lap again, his breath in clear view of his eyes as the cold air circled around him. He saw the fog starting to gather around the windshield, no longer allowing Hunter to see outside into what seemed to be the forest in front of him.

He quickly tried to touch the keys in the ignition, but the sounds of the dying car seemed to be giving him no hope. He clenched his jaw when he had finally attempted to start the car, but, like before, it spitting out nothing but exhaust and sounds of anger than peace. The motor could have a lot of juice left to power the car, but with its condition right now, the car wasn't going anywhere.

Groans from the other side of the car brought Hunter to full attention. He almost forgot about the man sitting beside him, rather too close to the window, where a spot of blood had frozen over in the cold.

Shawn managed to open his eyes, blurred a few seconds before being able to see the damage in front of him. The entire hood was ruined, the paint scratched, bruised and crumpled from the tree that just so happened to be in sight thanks to the car's headlights still shining even when the car was clearly not working. He groaned again, trying to move his body, but it ached at the slightest movement that tried to come forth. Hunter sighed again and quickly tried to find something within the car. He tried to look for a manual, but he knew a car couldn't start after hitting a tree. How did they even get here anyway?

Shawn moved his pounding head a little, able to make out Hunter's muscles as his friend was turned towards the back of the car, noises of his breath following, the cold sights of the breath flying into the air and disappearing in thin darkness. Shawn managed to get his head away from the window completely as he saw the shape of his friend, managing to smile a little before he could really think of anything else.

"You okay?"

Hunter stopped what he was doing and gave up, managing to climb his aching body back over into the driver's seat as he clearly touched the huge scar on the side of his head. He had noticed it only a few moments after the crash.

"Yeah," Hunter sighed, looking over at his friend, slumped in the seat. "Aching, but still okay."

Shawn let out a little chuckle. "Me too."

Hunter tried to look around the front parts of the car. Maybe, just maybe, something wasn't lost in the wreckage. He looked down, the consequence of his neck tightening, and saw nothing. Nothing but a speck of what seemed to be an open hole in the car's floor. The hole was about an inch wide, so there was really nothing to worry about. Shawn saw the actions of Hunter and quickly, but easily, tried to manage to move his body. It hurt for sure, but Shawn had lifted his body weight to where he could sit up straighter in the car seat than being slumped on his hips for what seemed like hours. He groaned as he felt a stinging sensation in his legs. He tried to look at them to the what the problem was, but couldn't find anymore strength to do it.

"I'm sorry." Shawn whispered, his voice shuddering from the cold chills in the air.

Hunter looked at Shawn. "What do you mean? You don't have to be sorry."

"I didn't warn you in time, Hunter. I'm sorry."

Shawn's voice sounded ghost-like to Hunter. Like he was, almost, fading away. Hunter managed to place his aching, and somewhat bloody arm, on Shawn's shaking leg.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

Shawn closed his eyes, wanting to ease the sharp pains in his legs.

"But...that deer." He whispered, voice trailing.

"Shawn," Hunter leaned closer to Shawn, trying to get a better view of the blood that had made it onto Shawn's forehead and stained some bits of his straight hair. "Don't worry about it. We didn't know this was going to happen."

The sharp pains continued in Shawn's legs. "Why? Why not worry? Aren't we accountable for this?"

"Only if we-" Hunter had began, but stopped. Maybe Shawn had a point. Maybe they both were accountable for what had happened. All he last remembered was the screams of Shawn before he himself had felt pains in his upper body until nothing but pitch black. He didn't remember anything about a deer. Maybe Shawn had been dreaming while he was unconscious, but, then again, what else would send a car off the road and into a ditch where a tree just so happened to be blocking the tumbles it could have taken.

Hunter took his hand off of Shawn's leg and began to look around. All of the windows were fogged. Nothing but shadows of trees could be seen a little through it. Hunter felt a chill go up his spine when he saw the blood on the dashboard, still flowing onto the steering wheel. He hadn't noticed it before. Maybe he was too focused on trying to get the car back up and running. Maybe he had thought too much about the next town. No, the next show. Maybe he had gotten tired from all of the jokes he and Shawn were playing on Vince since it was the man's birthday. The show gave him a tribute when the show's program officially ended, and it was pretty late when both he and Shawn had gotten in the car to leave.

Shawn managed to open his eyes, no longer hearing his best friend speaking, hoping he wasn't gone for good. He saw Hunter looking down at his lap, where his hands laid still and shaking. Shawn tried to move closer to his friend, but it didn't work. He screamed when his legs began to burn, more pain following.

Hunter snapped out of his thoughts to Shawn's voice. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Shawn winced and clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the pain. "Nothing."

"It's something. Your body burning?"

Shawn nodded. His only answer given with a few puffs of his breath visible in the air.

"My legs...they hurt." He whispered.

Hunter leaned close to Shawn again, able to make out, in the darkness, that Shawn's legs where somewhat under debris that had stacked into the car thanks to that tree. His breath almost was knocked out of him when he felt his own sides begin to burn. He had to pull back a second and let his body rest before he could do anything else.

"Hunter," Shawn whispered. "Are we gonna be okay?"

_We_

A word Hunter had seemed to have known was going to pop out of Shawn's mouth sooner or later. But it wasn't a bad thing. Shawn had been Hunter's friend for more than half a decade, but most of all was a companion. A brother to him. Hunter had never grown up around anyone else in his family but his parents, and calling Shawn a brother was the best thing about their long friendship. Shawn, in one way of another, could have possibly have felt the same way. Then again, he had a few brothers in his youth, and knew what it was like to put up with them. He had always considered his friends like brothers, and Shawn never would let a promise of friendship be broken until someone had broken it for him.

Hunter clenched his teeth as he managed to get his fingers tightened around the door handle. When he managed to open the door, the cold, chilling air hit him with a force. He had to cower back a few seconds before finally being able to push his aching body out of the car and stagger to find secure ground to stand on. Once he found his footing, he slowly put one foot in front of the other, easy making way past the debris and grass and long branches that had fallen from some nearby trees. Without thinking, he picked up one of the sticks closest to him and used it for balance. The wind picked up speed when he realized he had just made it to the back bumper of the car, thought he had made it nowhere with the slow pace he had. He breathed in the cold air and slowly eyed the other side of the car, where Shawn was still seated in the passenger seat. He continued walking, the stick keeping balance, and finally made it towards the door where he knew Shawn was hiding behind with all of the fog over it. He grabbed the door handle, his hand shaking and feeling frozen, and quickly opened it, the cold air picking up more speed.

Shawn moaned as the wind caught his skin and made him shudder. He felt something grab the side of his head, but it was so cold he couldn't make out what it was. He slowly felt his body moving, and almost felt himself falling out of the car completely, but whatever was touching him kept him from doing so. He heard noises coming from the floorboard. He could almost feel a weight lift off of his legs.

Hunter had managed to hold Shawn's head in his hand as his free hand roamed the floorboard where Shawn's legs was, managing to move out a lot of the debris, able to place it outside and drop the pieces without hesitation. He saw Shawn's legs were still under something, yet he couldn't make out what it could have been. He decided to try to move it, able to touch it, still managing to support Shawn's head.

The piece of equipment was cold and hard. It felt a little strong. Only both of Hunter's hands could have to lift it. He looked at Shawn, his face full of pain, his mouth open to breathe in and out with all of the movement. Hunter moved Shawn a little towards the seat, Shawn groaning loud in the process. He let Shawn go gently and saw that Shawn had grabbed onto Hunter's jacket as Hunter himself moved back down to lift the mystery object.

Hunter lifted the object, heavy and cold. He had managed to lift it little by little off of Shawn's legs until, finally, Shawn's legs were free of the object.

"Shawn?" Hunter whispered as he let the object slip out of his hands.

Shawn moaned, unable to speak. The cold air was beginning to come closer to his body, the warmth of Hunter's jacket only a mere save.

Hunter looked back down at the object, somewhat able to make out its pointed ends. It must have been something from the hood. A piece of the hood at that. Hunter decided to get a closer look, trying to tell whether his hunch was true.

"Hun-ter." Shawn moaned.

Hunter kept looking at the object, almost touching it again. This time, he could smell something coming out of nowhere.

"Don't...move...it." Shawn said, his eyes now opened.

_It_

Hunter looked closer, the horrible truth staring at him like a deer in headlights. Because it was a deer in the headlights. Or, rather, the floorboard. Hunter almost knocked his body back in shock, almost allowing himself to get thrown onto the ground. Well, he was pretty shocked. He gulped instead, looking back at Shawn's legs, the blood rushing out of his right leg, a puncture wound visible through the torn patches of the blue jeans tucked into his cowboy boots, his cowboy hat just happening to be under the seat. Hunter grabbed the cowboy hat and held it in his cold hands, nothing but tingling feelings felt as his palms managed to slip out of the hat's grasp and onto the ground.

Shawn kept his eyes open, knowing that the animal was there the whole time. He knew he had to tell Hunter sooner or later, but he couldn't conjure up the strength his body was aching and shaking so bad. He had forgotten that he had let Hunter's jacket slip between his fingers.

He managed to touch Hunter's shoulder, Hunter's head resting on the door. "Hunter, what's going to happen to us?"

Hunter looked at Shawn, his eyes ghostly and pale. He grabbed the older man, his brother's, hand and let himself slip into Shawn's arms, hugging him just as they had on many occasions all of the years they were tag team partners in the ring or seeing each other after long breaks off.

Shawn sighed as he tried to clasp his weak arms around his friend. "I should have told you about the deer."

"No," Hunter said, shaking his head. "You didn't need to."

It wasn't a dream. They were definitely accountable.

Hunter kept his body close to Shawn's, their body heat trying to warm the both of them. They had both never dreamed this would happen to them, just as Hunter never dreamed he would hear sounds of sirens coming down the road and lights flashing in blue and white towards the two friends.

They weren't drunk. They weren't even on drugs. It was an accident. It wasn't their fault. It just happened.

Hunter breathed into Shawn's chest as the noises drew closer, managing to slip his arm away from the warmth of Shawn's chest and slowly ran his fingertips across blades of grass until he found the rim of the cowboy hat and touched it, picking it up into the palm of his hand, bringing it back into the car with his shaking hand, renewing the warmth. Shawn closed his eyes as his breath managed to come out of him better and better, but he could feel his wound bleeding out more blood than this car could have ran low on oil by now.

The lights both hit their eyes as they both smiled, limp and heartfelt, their brotherhood of a friendship stronger than anything but an accident.


End file.
